Sample 7

Author: Nola Published: over 9 years ago
Tags: Christian, loneliness, God, college Category: Devotion

Only the Lonely

‘The time is coming, and is already here, when all of you will be scattered, each of you to your own home, and I will be left all alone. But I am not really alone, because the Father is with me.’ (John 16:32, Good News)

I lived at home during my college years, but many of my closest friends were out-of-town students who lived in the dorms. After four years, we finished our undergraduate training and my friends moved away. The first couple of months were really difficult for me. I missed them so much. We’d still keep in touch by phone (this was in the days before texting, email and Skype), but that couldn’t compare to seeing them in person, laughing together, and being able to give each other a hug.

One day when I was feeling particularly lonely, I glanced at the Bible sitting on my desk. I knew I should give my concerns to God, but my heart wasn’t in it. Reading scripture might help a little, but it wouldn’t ease the longing I had for my friends. I reluctantly picked up my Bible and opened it at random. My eyes immediately fell on the verse above: ‘all of you will be scattered, each of you to your own home, and I will be left all alone’. That’s exactly what had happened to me. ‘But I am not really alone, because the Father is with me’.

That verse surged through me like a lightning bolt and I burst into tears. I could hardly believe that God loved me so much He would speak directly to my need at that very moment. When Jesus said those words, He was prophesying about how the disciples would desert him after his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. My friends hadn’t abandoned me on purpose, but I certainly felt the emptiness caused by their leaving. Jesus had been there. He understood my loneliness.

In the weeks and months that followed, God brought many wonderful new friends into my life. He cheered me in a very tangible way, but I never forgot that verse.

Perhaps you’re feeling lonely today. Trust God with your circumstances and He will fill the void in your life in ways you can’t even imagine. He’s with you now and will never leave you. That’s a promise you can bank on.

(Published in Rise: 32 Weeks of Inspiring Devotions to Fuel Your First Year of College, compiled by Christi Brooks, edited by Kristi Hart, Chaplain Publishing, Lubbock, TX, 2014, p. 125.) Information about ordering can be found here.